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It was anything but a typical weekend for Pizza Cucina in Farmingdale.
The Ryder Cup was happening just a few miles away, but the family-owned shop sits outside the village’s bustling downtown. There was no surge of golfers walking in, no spike in sales — at least not at first.
Then, on Saturday night, the phone rang.
“Someone from the tournament called and said they needed 100 pies tomorrow,” owner Darlene Giambalvo told Greater Long Island. “Fifty plain and 50 pepperoni, and it had to be at the golf course by 6:30.”
The order was for the media tent, where food service for hundreds of journalists from around the world had just wrapped up work.
“How great is it that people from other countries were eating our pizza,” Giambalvo said with a smile. “I got a few texts afterwards saying everyone loved it.”
Ryder Cup ‘fluke’
Giambalvo, who opened the restaurant less than two years ago with her son Michael at 107 Northwest Drive, described the Ryder Cup connection as pure luck.
“A woman who works for the PGA called and said we came up in her Google search for gluten free pizza,” Giambalvo said. “After she ate, she asked if we could accommodate a large order on short notice. I told her 24 hours would be great — but honestly, we could have done it in a few hours if need be.”
Michael ended up loading the 100 pies into the family’s Hyundai Palisade and driving them straight to Bethpage Black.
“We were told security would only let one vehicle in once, so it all had to fit,” Giambalvo said.
“It was just a little tiny piece of the major event,” she continued. “But we are so grateful we got to be a part of it.”
Top: Pizza Cucina pies stacked high Saturday night for the media at Bethpage Black. (courtesy photo)
